JPH01287685A - Powder carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry a large quantity of toner without increasing the size of the picture forming device itself incorporating the title powder carrying device and without giving troubles to maintenance and jam processing works by rotatably mounting a powder container on a carrying means while the opening section of the container is rotatably engaged with the discharging port of the carrying means. CONSTITUTION:The opening section 11 of the waste toner recovering container 1 is rotatably mounted on the discharging port 21 of a carrying pipe 2 formed on one end of the pipe 2 and the toner reaching the discharging port 21 is contained in the container 1. When the both-side copying machine incorporating this powder carrying device is in a used state, the container 1 is housed in the outside cover on the front face of the copying machine and, when the internal mechanism of the both-side unit is to be exposed for performing maintenance and jam processing works, the container 1 is turned outward around the axis X-X. Therefore, the waste toner container 1 can be housed in the copying machine itself without increasing the size of the picture forming device itself and the maintenance and jam processing works can also be performed smoothly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (1) Purpose of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) This invention is suitable for use in electrostatic copying machines, printers, etc. that utilize powdered developer for image formation. The present invention relates to a powder conveying device.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved) In the image forming apparatus as described above, when transferring a transferable toner image formed on the surface of an image carrier to a sheet-like transfer material such as paper, all Since it is impossible to transfer the toner to the transfer material, the toner that does not contribute to transfer and is collected by the cleaning device should be collected in a waste toner container or the like for bulk processing. It is normal that there is.

In this type of device, it is inevitable that waste toner is generated every time an image is formed, and if this process is overlooked, the waste toner will scatter inside the device, contaminate the transfer material, and cause deterioration of image quality. Otherwise, it may adhere to various parts within the device and impair their functions. However, in reality, when designing and manufacturing this type of apparatus, priority is given to the configuration and arrangement of the image forming system, transport system, fixing system, etc., and waste toner processing means tends to be taken into consideration later.

To briefly describe the conventional collection of waste toner, the waste toner is collected in a collection container fixedly arranged below the waste toner discharge port of a cleaning device in the image forming apparatus, or in a container fixed at an appropriate position in the image forming apparatus. It was common for containers to be stored either directly from the outlet or by using a conveyor screw, and when the container was full, the contents were either thrown away or replaced with a new container.

Therefore, if the toner collection container is small, the toner will have to be disposed of more frequently and its handling will become cumbersome.

On the other hand, looking at recent image forming apparatuses, for example, photoreceptors that are highly durable and can withstand long-term use have come into use. Products that can be stored and operated at high speed with long maintenance intervals are coming into use.

Such large, high-speed machines naturally generate a large amount of waste toner, so it is not possible to arrange a large-capacity waste toner collection container to accommodate this without causing inconvenience to the operation and maintenance of the image forming apparatus itself. This may lead to a situation where the efficiency of the main image forming operation is hindered by secondary operations such as "waste toner processing."

The storage location of the waste toner collection container within the image forming apparatus, in particular, without affecting the arrangement of internal equipment.
Locations where it is possible to fix a collection container as large as possible include the dead space between the exterior cover and the internal mechanism, especially the front and rear spaces from the operator's perspective, and the lower part of the transport system. However, the space on the front side will obstruct jam removal and maintenance, and the back side is usually where mechanical parts such as drive systems are concentrated, so these should be avoided. If you try to do this, the shape of the toner container has to become complicated, and it is difficult and undesirable to attach and detach the toner container.Furthermore, the space under the conveyance system is not suitable for the main mechanical part in order to make it easy to attach and detach the toner container. In addition, if the capacity of the container is increased, it will usually be expanded horizontally, which tends to impair the toner storage efficiency, which is not practical.

The present invention has been made in order to cope with the current situation as described above, and it is possible to store a large amount of toner without increasing the size of the image forming apparatus itself, without interfering with jam removal or maintenance. The object of the present invention is to provide a powder conveying device that makes it possible.

(2) Structure of the invention (technical means for solving the problem, its effect) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a conveying means for conveying powder and a method for storing the powder conveyed by the conveying means. a container, and the container is rotatably disposed on the conveying means with the opening of the container rotatably engaged with the discharge port of the conveying means. It is.

With this configuration, when applied to an image forming apparatus, it is possible to store a large amount of toner without increasing the size of the apparatus itself and without interfering with operations such as maintenance and jam removal. .

(Description of Embodiments) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which a powder conveying device according to the present invention is used as a waste toner collecting device in a double-sided copying machine.

This double-sided copying machine includes a well-known electrostatic copying machine section 8 equipped with a rotating cylindrical photoreceptor 6 around which a latent image forming means, a developing device, a transfer means, etc. are arranged, and a portion located below the electrostatic copying machine section 8. It is equipped with a double-sided unit and a door for refeeding the transfer material that has been double-sided copied by the copying machine section to the core section. Since these structures and operations are already well known, further explanation will be omitted unless it is related to the present invention.

A cover (not shown) that can be opened and closed is provided on the front side of the paper in Figure 1. This is opened for maintenance, etc., and the figure shows the inside with the cover open. It is something that

In the electrostatic copying machine section 8, the residual toner generated at the transfer portion of the photoreceptor 6 is removed by the cleaning device 4, and the removed waste toner is discharged from the cleaning device 4 and then passed through the conveyor vibrator 2. It is assumed that the waste toner is stored in the waste toner collection container 1.

2 and 3 show only the waste toner collecting portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, including the photoreceptor 6 and the cleaning device 4. As shown in FIG.

A cleaning device 4 is disposed close to a photoconductor 6 extending perpendicular to the plane of the paper and rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, and the toner removed from the photoconductor by a cleaning blade 42 is collected by a cleaning device disposed within the cleaning device. It is conveyed by the first conveyance screw 41 in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, in the direction of the front opening/closing cover, and reaches the conveyance pipe 2 through a discharge port formed at a suitable position near the end of the cleaning device, and is disposed inside the conveyance pipe 2. The discharge port 21 formed at the other end of the conveying pipe 2 is reached by the second conveying screw 3 driven by the conveying pipe 2 .

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the opening 11 of the waste toner collection container 1, which is disposed in the space between the exterior cover and the mechanical part of the duplex unit, is rotatably attached to the discharge port 21. The toner that has reached the discharge port 21 is stored in the container 1.

When the double-sided copying machine is in use, the container 1 is housed inside the front exterior cover of the double-sided copying machine in a position as shown by solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 3.

When exposing the internal mechanism of the duplex unit for maintenance, jam removal, etc., after opening the cover, the container 1 is further rotated outward about the axis xx.

In this case, the direction and length of the above-mentioned conveying vibrator 2 are set appropriately depending on the internal configuration of the double-sided unit, and the container 1 is rotated by selecting the position of the rotation axis X-x at an appropriate position. By doing so, all parts inside the unit can be fully operated from the outside.

By configuring so that the center of the pipe 2 end outlet 21 and the center of the opening 11 of the container 1 coincide,
When the opening 11 rotates around the discharge port 21, no misalignment occurs between the two, and no toner leaks.

(3) As described in detail, when the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus, a large capacity waste toner container can be stored in the image forming apparatus without increasing the size of the image forming apparatus itself. In addition, it does not interfere with operations such as maintenance and jam removal, and it does not contaminate the inside and outside of the device when moving containers, so it can be used particularly in high-speed image forming devices to fully utilize its functions. It is extremely effective for demonstrating

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Figure 1 is a side view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a double-sided copying machine, Figure 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of a conveying device according to the present invention, and Figure 3 is a plan view of the same. It is a diagram. No. 1: Waste toner container, 2: O conveyance pipe, 3: φ.
2nd conveyance screw, No. 4...Cleaning device, 7*
e-reference duplex unit, 8-reference/copy machine section. Engraving of drawings Figure 2 Figure 3 Procedural amendment (sword October 5, 1988)

Claims (1)

[Claims] The apparatus includes a conveying means for conveying powder and a container for storing the powder conveyed by the conveying means, and the opening of the container is rotatably engaged with the discharge port of the conveying means. A powder conveying device comprising a container rotatably disposed on the conveying means.